The big day is almost here. Just two days left to shop for it!
Today’s artistic inspiration comes from another 12 Days of Christmas swap. This ornament was created by Autumn. (Sorry, Autumn, I didn’t take note of your last name!) This is really a cool ornament. It’s difficult to tell from the photo (and the photo isn’t the greatest anyway!) but the base of the ornament is a juice concentrate lid. You know, the stuff you get in the freezer section of the grocery store in the cardboard cylinders with metal ends? Autumn took the metal ends and made ornaments! Really cool!
It’s not only a beautiful ornament that adds a lot of sparkle to my tree, but I love that it was made out of something upcycled – something that was otherwise destined for the landfill! 
Here is an up close view of the ornament…
Like I said, very cool.
I love doing the 12 days of Christmas mail art swaps for things like this – I find it very inspiring to see what other artists are doing with everyday “throwaway” items like juice can lids! Pieces like this really get the creative juices flowing!
Today’s teas is one of my favorites thus far. This is one tea I’m likely to buy again from Teanzo, because I suspect I’ll be wanting more of it soon!
Earl Grey Green Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Teanzo 1856
Tea Description:
If you love Earl Grey Tea, then try our Earl Grey Green Tea. You get all the health benefits of green tea, with that familiar Earl Grey flavor that you already love. A perfect gift for Earl Grey lovers!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve reviewed quite a few Earl Grey black teas (an understatement!) but significantly less Earl Grey green teas. There are a couple of reasons for this: the first is that there are far fewer Earl Grey green teas available out there. With just about any tea company out there, you’re likely to find an Earl Grey black. Most tea companies has at least one black variety of Earl Grey. But, only a fraction of those actually carry an Earl Grey green tea.
The second reason is that as much as I love an Earl Grey black tea, I’ve not found a lot of Earl Grey green teas that I’ve enjoyed as much. I’ve enjoyed a few, but if it came down to a choice between an Earl Grey black and an Earl Grey green, I’d choose the black version every time. Bergamot just seems to meld better with the flavor of black tea better than the green tea.
BUT!
I think I may have found an Earl Grey green tea that I enjoy as much as I enjoy some of my favorite Earl Grey blacks. Maybe not as much as those Earl Grey black teas that are at the very top of my list, but, this Earl Grey green even when placed among the black teas would be somewhere in the top ten. Yep. I said it. This is a GOOD Earl Grey green. Really good!
I’m not sure what makes this one so much better than the other Earl Grey green teas that I’ve tried. The bergamot? Perhaps. This is a flavorful bergamot, tangy with just a little contrasting sweetness, it’s bright and invigorating. A nice, sunny citrus note that isn’t overly floral or perfume-y, but still very distinctly bergamot.
Perhaps it’s the tea itself? The green tea here looks like large gunpowder pellets and it has a pleasantly sweet flavor. It’s not overly vegetative. It’s a little earthy, it has hints of buttery notes. It’s a mild tasting green tea and it blends in a very agreeable way with the notes of bergamot. It has a slight creaminess to it that softens some of the sharper notes of the bergamot.
Together, this is a delightful match. The tea resteeps nicely too, I find that the bergamot notes soften somewhat in the second infusion but the softer notes are quite pleasant too.
This tea was one of the most pleasant of surprises discovered in this Advent Calender from Teanzo!
24 Days of Tea Holiday Countdown – Day 21 from Teanzo 1856
We’re getting there! This 24 days has gone by so quickly – it’s already day 21! Can you believe it? This year is almost gone – a new one about to begin!
For today’s artistic inspiration, I sorted through some of my old photos online and I came across some altered dominoes that I created. I altered a bunch of dominoes (the back of the domino is a really neat surface to use as a canvas for artwork) and I turned them into little ornaments and sold them one year at the Christmas Bazaar in Ridgefield, WA. That was more years than I care to count at this point! Wow! I can’t believe how long ago that was.
Anyway, here is one of the dominoes that I altered. I drilled a hole in the domino to be able to add a jump ring and a loop to the domino, then I added the star and swirl design, painted it, and then I added some rhinestones to the piece for some extra sparkle. Then I protected the surface with a resin that adds a glass-like surface to it. The final piece was bright, sparkly and shiny – just the kind of thing you want for your holiday tree!
I sold a bunch of these things – back then, I was also selling tea and that was my primary purpose at the bazaar, I wanted to sell my teas but I decided that since I was paying for the booth, that I’d take full advantage of it and sell some other stuff too. I did pretty well, I managed to sell enough to pay for the cost of the booth plus buy a few holiday gifts for some of the more expensive people on my list. It was a day well spent.
Tranquil Spa Blend
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos (Green)
Where to Buy: Teanzo 1856
Tea Description:
Tranquil Spa Blend is a relaxing ginger mint orange herbal blend. Rejuvenation at its tastiest. We wanted to take you away to a spa with our teas, so we put together a brand new Spa Trio: Dream Spa Blend, Tranquil Spa Blend, and Bliss Spa Blend. Each of these is caffeine free and blended to perfection to give you a spa feeling and taste. Each of our spa blends comes in a green latch tin with 2 oz of tea. You can also purchase them as a Spa Trio. Add a little spa to your day!
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Having already tried the Dream Spa Blend and the Bliss Spa Blend from the “Spa Trio” and really enjoying them, I was hopeful that I’d have a similar experience with this Tranquil Spa Blend. Then I read the ingredients and saw that eucalyptus was in the blend and I’m hopeful that the eucalyptus wouldn’t ruin this blend for me. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and go into it with an open mind!
To steep this tisane, I used my Kati tumbler. 12 ounces of water heated to 195°F, I poured the contents of the sampler pouch into the basket of the tumbler and then added the water. I steeped this for 6 minutes. Usually I would steep a tisane for a little longer but I was a little cautious this time with the eucalyptus.
Now it’s time for a sip!
OK, this isn’t bad! It’s actually quite tasty. Yes, I taste the eucalyptus, but, I am getting stronger notes of orange and ginger and the eucalyptus seems to enhance the ginger notes a little bit here. Rather than causing the whole cup to turn to a bitter, medicinal mess, it is actually enhancing the blend. That certainly is an unexpected turn of events!
The eucalyptus seems to soften the ginger a little bit. Ginger usually has a lot of peppery bite to it, but the eucalyptus has soften the blow of the ginger bite here. It’s still warm and ginger-y pleasant, but the ginger has a smoother flavor now.
I don’t taste a lot from the mint, but there is a background minty taste. I like the way that peeks through. The green rooibos is the perfect base because it adds a light, fruity sweetness to the cup.
Everything is balanced here. The orange is bright and juicy. The ginger is warm without being too spicy. The eucalyptus isn’t overpowering (yay!) and the mint is a soft, subtle flavor. It’s soothing without tasting medicinal. It all works with the ‘tranquil’ vibe that the name of this tea suggests.
A SURPRISINGLY good tisane. I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I am.
Winterwolf Tea Blend from M&K’s Tea Company
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos (Green)
Where to Buy: M&K’s Tea Company on Etsy
Tea Description:
Winterwolf Tea is here! A limited holiday tea, we take juicy wolfberries and roast them in our local honey with a bit of butterscotch flavor, mix in some spiced green rooibos with cinnamon, and, well, you have some Winterwolf Tea. It tastes like an apple met a cinnamon stick and got caught in a magical honey ocean. But they lived.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
As I was brewing this, I was thinking to myself, what are wolfberries? After the tea brewed, I looked at the infused berry and it looked a lot like a goji berry, so I googled it and it turns out that yes, goji berries are also known as wolfberries. I didn’t know that. You learn something new every day.
To brew this tisane, I emptied the sampler pouch into the basket of my Kati tumbler and added 12 ounces of water heated to 195°F and let it steep for 10 minutes. The result is something that’s a lot like the description above suggests. It does taste “like an apple met a cinnamon stick and got caught in a magical honey ocean.” In other words: YUM!
Because the rooibos used here is a green rooibos, the flavor doesn’t come off as nutty or woodsy, instead, it’s light and fresh and fruit-like. Apparently when green rooibos mixed with goji berries, honey, and butterscotch flavor, the end result is an apple-y flavor.
I don’t taste a strong ‘goji berry’ flavor here. I don’t get the tartness that I often get from goji berry. I taste honey, I taste notes of butterscotch, but mostly, what I taste is an apple-y, cinnamon-y flavor that is quite lovely. I’m not quite sure where the apple notes are coming from, but they’re there, and I’m loving what I’m drinking, even if I don’t quite understand it!
I’m really pleased with this holiday blend from M&K’s. If all rooibos blends tasted this good, I’d not be so apprehensive to try them, because this tisane is delicious!
24 Days of Tea Holiday Countdown – Day 19 from Teanzo 1856
It’s day 19! We’re getting closer and closer to the finish line here, folks!
For today’s artistic inspiration, I chose another gift that I received as a 12 Days of Christmas mail art swap gift – this time, I chose to feature a gift from artist Shelly Rae Wood.
This is big – about the size of a saucer. There is a pin back on it, so, I’m guessing the intention was that it be a broach but it’s a bit larger than I would wear as a broach, so instead, I got some “pine needle” garland and wrapped it with that sparkly garland (you know, the kind that most people wrap around their tree?) and I attached this to the center of the garland as a centerpiece of the garland. I like the overall effect.
For the rest of the garland, I hung small bulb ornaments. (I don’t like those bulb ornaments for my tree, but, I don’t mind them for the garland.) I hung the garland up over the living room window.
It seems like there have been quite a few tisanes over the last few days, so I was a little surprised that today’s tea to also be tisane – it’s a good one though so I was happy to have it!
Vanilla Rooibos
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Rooibos
Where to Buy: Teanzo 1856
Tea Description:
Vanilla is one of the most popular flavors in the world, and we bring this to you in the form of a loose leaf rooibos. It is delicious with or without milk and is naturally caffeine-free.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The dry leaf has a very strong and natural vanilla scent. Having tried several vanilla flavored blends and being greeted with a sort of alcohol-ish vanilla aroma (like an inexpensive extract), I was happy to smell this and not pick up on a strong “extract” type of note.
To brew this, I used one of the little DIY tea bags that was included in the Advent Calendar box. I learned from one of the previous rooibos tisanes from this box that the rooibos from Teanzo is very finely chopped and these DIY tea bags help prevent any stray rooibos leaves from getting into the beverage. I put the entire contents of the sampler package into the tea bag and put the bag into my favorite mug. I heat 12 ounces to 195°F and poured the hot water into the mug and let it steep for 10 minutes.
Tasty!
As I’ve said before, I usually prefer it when the flavoring of a rooibos and/or honeybush blend overpowers the natural flavor of the leaf, because I’m not all that crazy about the flavor of rooibos. And even though this has not been overpoweringly flavored, I like the way the vanilla notes complement the natural nutty and woodsy flavors of the rooibos. It’s a very pleasant flavor combination.
That’s especially true because what I’m tasting now is a true vanilla flavor. It doesn’t taste artificial. It tastes as though this was flavored with either a very high quality flavoring oil or it was flavored with vanilla beans.
Either way, I really appreciate the flavor here. It’s not an overpowering vanilla flavor, but it’s sweet, it’s creamy, and the natural nutty flavors of the rooibos work very well with the vanilla. This would be a great “late night” snack. Low in calories and fat – but high in indulgent flavor.
24 Days of Tea Holiday Countdown – Day 17 from Teanzo 1856
Day 17! How many of you have finished your shopping?
Me either.
Today’s artwork comes from Jeri Aaron from the last 12 Days of Christmas Art Swap I was in (I think it was from 2012). She “stuffed” a holiday mitten with a Santa Stuffy. I think it was originally created to be a broach or something like that because there’s a pin back on it, but, it’s kind of big for a broach. (At least for me.) But, I really liked it and so I decided to make it a wall ornament for the holidays. I hang it along with the stockings to add a little bit of color to the place where the stockings are ‘hung with care.’ (We don’t hang our stockings by the fireplace. We hang our stockings on the wall next to the front door in the living room.)
Anyway, this was a fun little gift to receive. It seems like with these exchanges, most of the people are focused on making tree ornaments (myself included!) so, it’s nice to get something just a little different and unexpected like this. It’s a fun gift.
Today’s tea was also quite fun and festive!
Cranberry Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
Where to Buy: Teanzo 1856
Tea Description:
Delicious black tea with cranberries is a holiday delight. Cranberry Tea makes a wonderful gift for a holiday host or a great stocking stuffer.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
The appearance of the dry leaf is really pretty, lots of little red safflower petals and a couple of big chunks of freeze-dried cranberries. The aroma of the dry leaf is black tea with a berry note.
I brewed this the same way I’ve brewed most of the teas in this wonderful Advent Calendar from Teanzo, in my Kati Tumbler. I poured the contents of the sampler pouch into the basket of the tumbler and added 12 ounces of boiling water. I let it steep for 3 minutes.
The brewed tea has a sweet smell with notes of berry and black tea. I let the tea cool for a few minutes – a few minutes cool time is really essential to getting those flavors to pop!
Tasty! The sip starts out surprisingly sweet: sweeter than I expected since this is a cranberry tea and cranberries are usually quite tart. But as the sip progresses, some of those tart notes come forward to contrast with that sweet start. It’s almost a jammy start. It’s sweet and quite pleasant.
The mid-sip is where I notice most of the tartness of the berry, but the sweet notes in this tea help to soften the tartness so I’m not experiencing a pucker with this tea. I also get just a hint of berry tingle in the aftertaste.
The black tea base is smooth. No bitterness nor is there a strong astringent tone to the finish. Some astringency, not a lot. The black tea seems to complement the cranberry well.
Overall, this is a very enjoyable tea and I’m glad that it was included in the Advent Calendar!